The Department of Justice issued a new directive Tuesday rescinding a “zero tolerance” policy regarding the prosecution of undocumented immigrants coming over the border that resulted in thousands of family separations, the Associated Press reports.

The new policy reverts Justice Department guidelines to pre-Trump era practices, revoking a requirement that anyone caught crossing the border illegally be charged with illegal entry.  Because minors cannot legally be detained with their families, the Trump policy resulted in thousands of children being separated from their parents or legal guardians.  During the Trump Administration, more than 5,500 children were taken from their parents, and hundreds are still not reunited with their families because the Trump Administration failed to match children with their families or deported the parents without tracking them to help them regain custody of their children. 

Acting Attorney General Monty Wilkinson issued the directive to prosecutors Tuesday, informing them that they have prosecutorial discretion to consider individual circumstances before bringing charges.

Wilkinson’s memo notes that the DoJ has “long emphasized that decisions about bringing criminal charges should involve not only a determination that a federal offense has been committed and that the admissible evidence will probably be sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction, but should also take into account other individualized factors, including personal circumstances and criminal history, the seriousness of the offense, and the probable sentence or other consequences that would result from a conviction.”